Colorado Rapids and John Murphy Part Ways

COMMERCE CITY COLO. (ColoradoRapids.com) - The Colorado Rapids announced today that the club's director of player development John Murphy has moved on from the club.

"I have enjoyed my four years with the Colorado Rapids and my role in the growth of our club during that time said Murphy.

"The fans have gotten a glimpse of what is possible regarding the potential of this group of players and it is my belief that the club has its best days ahead of them. The team has the right man in charge and with that in mind I wish Gary Smith the players and the entire organization the very best moving forward."

Rapids managing director Jeff Plush added: "The Rapids truly appreciate all of John’s efforts in building our club through his scouting expertise and coaching over the years."

"John's involvement with the development of our younger players who are making significant contributions on our first team has been a true asset to our club and we appreciate everything he has accomplished in his roles of assistant coach and director of player development. But ultimately John is a coach and his passion is working and developing players on the field so at this time John has left to pursue those opportunities. We certainly wish him the best in all his endeavors and future successes."

2008 was Murphy's fourth season with the Rapids and ninth MLS season overall. As director of player development his responsibilities included first team scouting and working with the Rapids Youth Academy which he helped to create along with working with the Rapids Academy camps which last year instructed over 1000 young soccer players.

Murphy holds a U.S. Soccer "A" License a UEFA "A" License from the Scottish Football Association an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma and an English Football Association "A" Goalkeeper Coaching License. He is also continuing his work in the prestigious UEFA Pro Badge program the top coaching license in the world with the Scottish Football Association.